Lighting fixture with lamp-removal baffling



June 23, 1 959 A. L. ROSENSTEIN 2,892,077

LIGHTING FIXTURE WITH LAMP-REMOVAL BAFF'LING File d May 15, 1958 laffarncy United States Patent LIGHTING FIXTURE WITH LAMP-REMOVALBAFFLING Application May 15, 1958, Serial No. 735,415 3 Claims. (Cl.240--51.11)

This invention has as its principal object the provision of improvedbaffle means for use in lighting fixtures such as trofi'ers andparticularly characterized in that the lighting fixture includes atrough-like reflector means housing elongated fluorescent tubes, and thebafile means is positioned internally of the trough at spaced positionsalong the length thereof, the bafile being shiftable in a certain mannerinto positions of alignment lengthwise of the fluorescent tubes in orderthat the latter may be inserted and withdrawn readily from the troughfixture, especially by means of a lamp changers pole.

A more particular object of the invention is the provision of atrough-like lighting fixture for elongated lamps, and a plurality ofbafiles mounted to pivot, and linked together to pivot into positions ofalignment lengthwise of the fixture.

Additional aspects of novelty and utility relate to details of theconstruction and operation of the illustrative embodiment of theinvention as described hereinafter in view of the annexed drawing, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a lighting fixture equipped with thenovel bafile means;

Fig. 2 is a plan view looking up into the bottom of the device of Fig.1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-section looking in the direction of lines3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional detail looking in the direction oflines 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail taken along lines 5-5 of Fig. 3.

The drawing in Fig. 1 shows a type of lighting fixture sometimes knownin the trade as a Trougher or Trotter, such devices being characterizedbroadly by the fact that they are commonly elongated and comparable inshape to an inverted trough.

The fixture shown in Fig. 1, for example, includes a pair of elongatedside walls and 11, a pair of end walls 12 and 13, and a top 14, seen tobetter advantage in Fig. 3.

Situated at spaced points along the interior of the trough are baflles21, 22, and 23, mounted for joint pivotal movement in a manner to bedescribed.

Above the battles are elongated tubular fluorescent lamps 8 removablysupported by sockets 9 (Figs. 2 and 3) located at opposite ends thereofand of a character well known in the art such that lamps may be seatedtherein, or removed therefrom by certain simple inserting and turningmotions which may be effected by an attendant using a common lamp poleP, the general form of which is indicated in Fig. 1, such poles having ayokeshaped clamp C at the end thereof, the jaws of which may or may notbe mechanically operable by a handlever mechanism (not shown) extendingto the lower end of the pole.

Such lamp poles are of varying degrees of refinement and are in commonuse to enable an attendant to change lamps in overhead fixtures withoutuse of a ladder.

According to the construction particularly evident in Figs. 3 and 5,each of the light baflles fits closely, but with some marginal swingingclearance, into the trough and is normally disposed transversely of thelatter for bafile operation, as in Fig. 1.

Each baflle is pivotally mounted centrally along its upper margin as bymeans of pivot bolts 27 extending through suitable apertures on theoffset upper edge flange 21X provided on each baffle plate.

The pivots 27 are seated in the bottom wall 30 of channel member whichserves as a multiple reflector and compartment partition, and also as abafile mounting, this member having a pair of upwardly pitchedreflectory faces or walls 31, 32, and respectively continuing inopposite lateral olfsets 31A, 32A, which are each joined to one of thetrough side walls, as at 31X, by spot welding or the like. Pivot bolts27 are preferably equipped with friction means, such as springs 28,tensionable by nuts 29 sufliciently to maintain the individual bafllesin any position of adjustment.

The several bafiles are linked for joint pivotal motion by means, suchas depicted in Fig. 2, comprising a first rigid link arm 34 pivotallyattached as at 35, 36 to, and interconnecting, the baffles 21 and 22 atone side of a common center line through all pivots 27; and a secondrigid link arm 38 similarly interconnecting batfies 22 and 23 as at 37,39, but on the opposite side of said common center line.

The link arms 34 and 38 are simple angle bars attached as in Fig. 4 byfree pivot rivets or bolts, which are set through the aforesaid offsetupper edges (21X) of the respective bafiles.

Thus, an easy turning movement applied to any baflle will turn all inunison, and when it is desired to service or remove any of thefluorescent lamps 8, a lamp-pulling tool such as the pole P serves wellto apply the necessary force to swing all baflles simultaneously intosubstantially longitudinal alignment, as indicated by the dotted-linepositions depicted in Figs. 2 and 3.

Long troughers with a larger number of jointly swinging baffles areentirely feasible, although it is generally desirable to limit thelength of these units to the length of the longest fluorescent tubesavailable.

I claim:

1. In a trougher for elongated lamps, a plurality of bafile platescentrally pivoted at spaced points along the inside length of thetrougher to pivot about an axis at right angles to the top of thetrougher from normal position respectively transverse to the trougherand lamps into positions approximately in line with a median lengthwiseaxis through the trougher and means linking said baflles for jointpivotal motion, as aforesaid, whereby the bafiles may be moved intonon-obstructing position to facilitate entry and removal of said lampsfrom the trougher.

2. In a lighting fixture for elongated tubular lamps including a troughin which the lamps are seated, baffle means mounted pivotally in thetrough at points along a median line such that said bafl'les can beturned into a normal position each disposed in a plane substantiallyparallel to the plane of the other and transverse to said trough andsaid lamps and median line; and means linking said battles for jointpivotal motion from said normal position into positions in which eachbafile is turned into a plane nearly parallel with said median line andthe lengthwise axis of said lamps so as to lie in non-obstructingrelation to the lamps to permit removal of the latter from the fixture.

3. A lighting fixture in the form of an elongated housing having a topportion and side wall portions depending therefrom, at least twoelongated lamps disposed in said housing lengthwise thereof one on eachside of a median line extending lengthwise of said housing; socket meansremovahly mounting the lamps in the housing as aforesaid; means attachedto the housing and providing at intervals along said median line apivotal support for a baffie; a baffle plate carried by each saidpivotal support for movement into and out of baffling positions in whichthe bafiles are in plane approximately parallel to each other andtransverse to said lamps and obstructing removal of the lamps outwardlyof the fixture; to nonobstructing positions in which the several bafllesare turned into longitudinal positions each in a plane substantiallyparallel to the other and the length of said lamps; and means pivotallyinter-connecting all bafiies to pivot the same into said non-obstructingposition responsive to a turning moment applied to any baflie.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

